{"id":3352,"date":"2026-03-27T02:54:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T06:54:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/?p=3352"},"modified":"2026-04-08T03:00:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T07:00:38","slug":"i-is-for-impressive-thailand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/27\/i-is-for-impressive-thailand\/","title":{"rendered":"“I” is for Impressive (Thailand)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I honestly didn\u2019t think that anything could be as impressive as the day we had experienced in Bangkok,\u00a0 but our second day, while docked in Leam Chebang, was equally as enjoyable.\u00a0 \u00a0The ship had overnighted and we were scheduled to take a private tour to the nearby town of Pattaya. \u00a0This town has a reputation for beaches and the bawdy, \u00a0so I wasn\u2019t quite sure what to expect today. \u00a0Most people come to Pattaya for the nightlife and we were due to depart at 4pm, so we would see none of that. \u00a0With its close proximity to Leam Chebang, it is an easy location to get to, so we were off the ship by 8am.\u00a0 Unfortunately traffic was very congested and the 20 minute journey took about an hour and a half. With our already shortened day in port, we knew it would be a whirlwind of the three activities on the schedule for the day,<\/p>\n

Suan Nongnooch Botanical Gardens<\/strong><\/p>\n

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We would begin the day at Nong Nooch Botanical Gardens.\u00a0 Anyone who knows me, knows that flowers are my passion (right up there with photography).\u00a0\u00a0 Combine these two things and it creates a time management problem as I while away the hours!\u00a0 Because we are on tour, I must stay on task.<\/p>\n

The Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden (Suan Nong Nooch) is one of the most popular tourist attractions in all of Thailand. It is one of the largest tropical gardens and the world\u2019s largest botanical garden.<\/p>\n

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The Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden (Suan Nong Nooch) is one of the most popular tourist attractions in all of Thailand. It is one of the largest tropical gardens and the world\u2019s largest botanical garden.There are over 20,000 tropical trees, collected from 50 countries around the world. The most distinctive flower collection consists of more than 600 species of orchids.<\/p>\n

The land which it occupies was originally bought for the cultivation of an orchard. The initial goal was to grow mangoes, coconuts, oranges and other Thai fruits there. After a trip abroad, the owner of the land, after whom the Nong Nooch Pattaya garden was named, decided to plant a tropical flower garden instead of an orchard.<\/p>\n

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Later, having realized how attractive this place could become for tourists, it was fully equipped for a variety of interests. The complex is huge, covering over 500 acres! Besides the massive Botanic Gardens, you can find a swimming pool, restaurants, a banquet hall and hotels.\u00a0 There is a zoo of sorts, an elephant arena and a performance hall.\u00a0 There is even\u00a0 a hall featuring a car collection!\u00a0 Each section has its own entrance fee and it is a reasonable day out for families, making the site a popular tourist destination.<\/p>\n

The garden was opened to the public in 1980 and is now run by the founder\u2019s son. Each areas is divided into specialized \u201cgardens\u201d.\u00a0 By my count there were at least 14.\u00a0 We were so limited on time, we hopped aboard a shuttle, to be able to see most of what the grounds offered, which meant I couldn’t get up close and personal with the plants.\u00a0 This was probably good since there are 8 of us in the group. It also meant views were limited based on the side of the shuttle you had chosen.<\/p>\n

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I don\u2019t want to do this beautiful space any disservice by saying it is also an amusement park.\u00a0\u00a0 There aren\u2019t rides per say (except for the elephant rides)\u00a0 but there are themed areas such as the massive Dinosaur Garden.<\/p>\n

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Seeking respite from the 90+ degree heat, we moved to a massive, enclosed auditorium, which was blissfully air conditioned.\u00a0 Here, we would be treated to the most spectacular stage presentation of traditional Thai cultural performances. The 45 minute performance included traditional and more modern dances which rivaled Las Vegas. A little Thai martial art was also thrown in for our entertainment and then the elephants were brought in for a reenactment of what is called the elephant fight (the riders battle with long poles).\u00a0 The entire show had me spellbound.<\/p>\n

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We still weren\u2019t done at Na Nooch.\u00a0 Next we were taken to a big arena to see the elephants perform.\u00a0 This is a circus-like environment where the elephants pose for pictures, can be fed, play basketball, soccer, bowl and paint.\u00a0 They are extremely well trained but I would have preferred time at the floating market, which we then had to cut from our schedule.\u00a0 My fellow passengers might have preferred if I hadn’t smelled like an elephant the rest of the day, after playing with them!<\/p>\n

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I was holding out hope that we could still have some time at our final destination, the Sanctuary of Truth, which would blow our socks off.\u00a0 I had researched this amazing place but we were only given 30 minutes at the location, which translated to about 15 by the time we actually got to the structure.<\/p>\n

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Sanctuary of Truth (UNESCO)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Sanctuary of Truth is another of the most popular places to visit in Pattaya.<\/p>\n

While many people refer to it as a temple, it is actually a privately owned museum. The distinctive 105-metre structure, built on the headland near Wongamat Beach, was visuaalized by a businessman to celebrate Thai craftsmanship and it certainly does!<\/p>\n

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The intricate structure is built completely out of wood. The pieces are held together using different techniques such as lap joints, dove tails, and large wooden pins.\u00a0 No nails have ever been used.<\/p>\n

Each elaborate carving tells the stories of Thai mythology and philosophy. It\u2019s a tribute to traditional craftsmanship and spiritual values.\u00a0 Talented craftsman work daily to repair the building and\/or to add to the structure. \u00a0Since it is a working construction zone, visitors are required to wear hard hats.<\/p>\n

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We didn\u2019t have enough time to partake but beyond the temple, there are boat rides, cultural shows, and scenic viewpoints of the coastline.<\/p>\n

On our last day in Thailand, we reflect on all we have experienced in this country and conclude the memories have been absolutely incredible!<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I honestly didn\u2019t think that anything could be as impressive as the day we had experienced in Bangkok,\u00a0 but our second day, while docked in Leam Chebang, was equally as enjoyable.\u00a0 \u00a0The ship had overnighted and we were scheduled to take a private tour to the nearby town of Pattaya. \u00a0This town has a reputation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,18,20,387],"tags":[118,158,405,394,257],"class_list":["post-3352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventures","category-world-adventures","category-asia","category-blog","category-thailand","tag-architecture","tag-culture","tag-elephants","tag-gardens","tag-museum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3352"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3394,"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3352\/revisions\/3394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abcexplorers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}